Former third-round pick and longtime backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers Mason Rudolph posted on Instagram to bid his farewell to the Steelers organization and the city of Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon after signing his contract with the Tennessee Titans.
“For the past 6 years, it has been a privilege to be part of the Pittsburgh community and represent the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Rudolph wrote. “To my teammates, coaches, staff, Art Rooney, the Rooney family, Thomas Tull, Larry Paul, and the rest of the Steelers organization: Thank you for changing my life forever six years ago when you gave me the opportunity to wear the Black & Gold.”
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The message is in stark contract to Kenny Pickett’s farewell message just days ago where he thanked the city, but made no mention of the Steelers, his coaches, or any other aspect of his former team.
Rudolph had a tough go of things from the start in Pittsburgh. He was drafted in 2018 and by all accounts Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t pleased that the Steelers used a high draft pick on a quarterback when they could have upgraded the roster elsewhere. Rudolph described their relationship last offseason, saying “we weren’t close.”
During the 2019 season he was thrust into action with Roethlisberger being out for the season with an elbow injury and he struggled in eight starts which led to him being supplanted by Duck Hodges. Last offseason he was given a one-year extension by the team after he received little interest around the league in free agency.
He started the season as the third-string, but ended up leading the Steelers to the playoffs with three straight wins to end the regular season, leaving Pickett on the bench when he returned from his ankle surgery. That was the beginning of the end of Pickett in Pittsburgh.
Now, Rudolph is on a one-year deal with the Titans where he will be backing up second-year QB Will Levis.
